Man accused of ploughing car through crowd in Berlin is 'mentally ill': Prosecutors

In the aftermath of the attack on a busy Berlin street on Wednesday (June 8), the prosecutors will now seek to have the man, accused of driving a car through a crowd, to be kept in psychiatric care, the news agency AFP reported quoting a spokesman for the prosecution. The driver of the car apparently showed signs of mental illness, as per the spokesman.

One person was killed and eight were injured when a German-Armenian man drove into a group of people in the German capital, sparking terrorism fears. The incident took place on Rankestrasse near the main shopping district's Breitscheidplatz.

Spokesman Sebastian Buechner said that the 29-year-old has shown "relatively strong" signs of suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

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Buechner stated that a political motive is being ruled out, however, a further probe into the incident will reveal details of the case as to whether mental illness was the cause of the crime.

Meanwhile, as quoted by Reuters, an eyewitness to the deadly car crash said that the driver apologised immediately after the attack, telling police "I did not want that."

In a tragic accident, a school teacher from a small town in the central state of Hesse, was killed and a male teacher was seriously injured.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the attack. He termed it a "cruel rampage". Meanwhile, Berlin's Mayor Franziska Giffey told local media that the accused is "severely mentally impaired".

Police released a short statement to state that they believe the attack was "an intentional act" by the "allegedly mentally ill 29-year-old".

Around 130 emergency personnel were deployed to the scene, where several people were seriously injured and some were airlifted by helicopter for treatment.

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